Consider: A woman inherited psychic abilities from her mother, including the ability to speak to the dead, and after initially looking on this as a curse, she’s come to accept it as a gift that gives her life purpose. She’s happily married to a man who didn’t know about her abilities when they met, but who has grudgingly come to accept them as real, despite his own rationalist views. She uses her psychic powers to solve mysteries, trying to put things right for the spirits she communicates with. What TV show does this describe?

There are, of course, two correct answers: Medium and Ghost Whisperer.

It used to be that Medium was on NBC on Mondays, and Ghost Whisperer was on CBS on Fridays, and it looked like another example of two networks both trying to cash in on a good idea. Now, though, they’re both on CBS on Friday, which leads to the question: Why does CBS want both? Why grab Medium away from NBC, instead of spinning a new series off from Ghost Whisperer? I mean, they even have the obvious spin-off character ready to go, their “ghost listener” Eli. Why add Medium instead? What does it have that a spin-off wouldn’t?

Well, a built-in audience, for one, though I’d guess not everyone followed the move from NBC – I missed the season premiere myself because I’d forgotten about the change. Is that it?

Naah. The shows are different. Very different. Because where Ghost Whisperer is sentimental, Medium is dark; where Ghost Whisperer is silly, Medium is creepy. They took the same premise, but The Ghost Whisperer cleaned it up, and Medium kept it real.

On Ghost Whisperer, when Melinda first discovered she could talk to the dead, the ghost of her grandmother explained what was happening, and that made it okay.

On Medium, no one explained anything to Alison; her mother told her to shut up, and Alison wound up drinking heavily for years to shut out the voices and visions.

On Ghost Whisperer, after some initial doubts pretty much everyone comes to accept Melinda’s gifts, and to believe what the ghosts say.

On Medium, plenty of people never do believe in Alison’s abilities, and even Alison doesn’t always believe what she sees in her dreams. Even people like her husband, Detective Scanlan, and District Attorney Devalos, who know her abilities are real, are likely to respond to her more bizarre visions with doubts and reservations.

On Ghost Whisperer, there’s never been any real tension between Melinda and Jim, not even when Jim died and was reincarnated without remembering who he was. Nothing really stresses their marriage.

On Medium, Joe loves Alison, but he worries about his job, their finances, and their reputation, and he’s yelled at Alison plenty of times.

Melinda Gordon runs the cleanest antique shop I’ve ever seen in my life and drives a nice new SUV despite apparently never having any customers who aren’t haunted local residents.

Alison Dubois works for the D.A. and drives a battered old station wagon.

Melinda Gordon lives in the mythical Grandview, New York, which has a town center redolent of Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney, while Alison Dubois lives in Phoenix, Arizona, a vast expanse of urban sprawl where illegal immigrants and the Mexican drug trade are an ongoing concern.

Melinda’s son doesn’t seem to have any concerns except drawing pictures, playing with toys, and having psychic dreams that never really upset him. Finding childcare while Melinda and Jim run around dealing with ghosts never seems to be a problem.

Alison Dubois’ three daughters worry about school and homework and friends and boys, and there’s serious sibling rivalry. Their occasional displays of psychic abilities can be extremely troubling, as when Ariel relived a rape in her dreams. Making sure someone’s there to get them to school in the morning, and to make their supper every evening, is an ongoing issue.

Melinda Gordon patches up family squabbles. Alison Dubois tracks down serial killers.

In short, Ghost Whisperer is pure fantasy – Grandview isn’t any more real than the Shire – and Medium is about as realistic as a show about a psychic can be. Medium is what Ghost Whisperer would be if it grew up.

Which makes me wonder whether CBS might be making a big mistake putting them back-to-back on Friday nights – will they really appeal to the same audience?

But then, I watch both of them…

——

See what Lawrence has written in the Smart Pop series here.

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In Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Television